Sada Jacobson '06 Wins Silver at Olympics

Aug 09, 2008

Aug. 9, 2008

BEIJING, China - Sada Jacobson '06 won a silver medal in the women's fencing individual sabre Saturday in Beijing. Jacobson, a two time NCAA sabre champion at Yale, came in second to fellow American Mariel Zagunis.

Zaguins defeated Jacobson 15-8 in the gold medal match. The United States made it a clean sweep of the medals in the individual sabre with Becca Ward winning the bronze.

Seeded No. 1 in the competition, Jacobson handed Cuba's Mailyn Gonzalez Pozo a 15-11 defeat in the round of 32 to start off her Olympic competition. In the round of 16, Jacboson defeated Ukraine's Olga Kharlan 15-13. Jacobson triumphed over Ukraine's Olena Khomrova 15-11 in the quarterfinals. Jacobson advanced to the gold medal match with a 15-11 defeat of Russia's Sofiya Velikaya.

Jacobson will add this year's silver medal to the bronze medal she won in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. A native of Dunwoody, Ga., Jacobson entered Yale in the fall of 2000 as a member of the Class of 2004 and already had a list of impressive accomplishments. She was a member of the 1999 U.S. team at the first Women's Sabre Cadet/Junior World Championship in Dijon, France. Her individual wins in the NCAA sabre championship in 2001 and 2002 helped Yale finish ninth and sixth, respectively, in the country those years. Yale also won the Ivy League Championship in 2001-02. Jacobson then took a leave from Yale to prepare for the 2004 Olympics.

Jacobson claimed her first senior World Cup at the New York City Grand Prix in June of 2003, becoming the first American woman to achieve the world's top ranking. She then won the next World Cup event in Cuba. At the 2004 Olympics she defeated her first two opponents before falling to Tan Xue of China 15-12 in the second of two semifinals. She won the bronze medal by defeating Catalina Gheorhitoaia of Romania, 15-7.

Jacobson returned to Yale to complete her degree after the Olympics.
Jacobson's younger sisters, Emily and Jackie, are both fencers as well. Her father, David `74, was a fencer at Yale. Despite not having any fencing experience prior to coming to New Haven, David Jacobson became the school's first All-American under the tutelage of head coach Henry Harutunian. Jacobson captained the 1974 Yale team and earned a bronze medal at the 1974 U.S. National Championships.

Jacobson will also compete in the team sabre competition, which start at 9:30 p.m. Eastern time on Aug. 13 and last until 1:50 a.m. Eastern time on Aug. 14.